While sweeping out the 2 cells used for holding people just before they face disciplinary hearings, I take a brief look at the graffiti on the walls.
The dreary "X was here" litters the paint, a boring testament to a man's existence. The occasional insult creeps in: "fuckin carrot-munching southerners"!. On this showing, I have to wonder if the government's literacy drive is wasted money.
And yet, in perfect script, stands out the surreal injunction, "Polly put the kettle on".
Polly put the kettle on,
ReplyDeletePolly put the kettle on,
Polly put the kettle on,
We'll all have tea.
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
Sukey take it off again,
They've all gone away
You feeling okay tallguy?
ReplyDeleteVery cryptic Tallguy!
ReplyDeleteIts a traditional English nursery Rhyme.
ReplyDeleteProbably the person who wrote the first line there was thinking about it as looking back to a happier time in their life.
Or just *really* wanted a cup of tea, Tallguy?
ReplyDeleteGraffiti is everywhere. Some of the artistic stuff is ok, but the mindless crap is just everywhere. Whoever invented the spray can has a lot to answer for.
ReplyDelete"the mindless crap is just everywhere", I agree anonymous, and its part of and an expression of the alienation we experience.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the gems that we see from the great genius Banksy, to the charming and different 'polly put the kettle on' from the block where Ben is for exmaple, show that through or despite all the muck and struggle, people can and do still reach out and connect with others with the ever present human spirit and its will to survive.